Ebenezer through the years

Children like Ebenezer are growing up happy and healthy in Volta thanks in part to the investments being made in them, and in their community’s understanding of the important role they play in development.

In the years since our sponsorship began in Volta, you can see the influence of those investments on the life of Ebenezer who has blossomed into a mature and thoughtful nine year old.

2012

We first met Ebenezer in 2012 and he was a bit camera shy

Back in 2012, when work was just beginning, Ebenezer’s father remembers the focus being on a few key areas.

“It was all about the health of children, the value of their education, and the importance of child rights,” he recalls.

This meant that Ebenezer’s parents reprioritized their lives to put their children at the centre of their efforts as a family knowing that without this, they could not truly work towards breaking the cycle of poverty.

Back in 2012, when Ebenezer was just seven and too shy to say much, he told us that he wanted to be a soldier.

2013

In 2013, Ebenezer confidently smiles for the camera

By 2013, change was under way.

“My family is now a happy family,” Ebenezer’s mother told us then. “We are more united and more involved in our own development. And we have good drinking water and a good school building for our children.”

Ebenezer, now 8, also had more to say.

“I go to school and like math,” he told us with a big smile. “I want to be a tailor when I grow up and I really like the drumming and dancing in our community.”

2014

Ebenezer in 2014, growing up happy and healthy

Now that Ebenezer is 9, he has a lot to tell us when we go to see him.

“I go to school all the time and my favourite subjects are Math, English and Science,” he says with a smile.

He tells us that he has been paying attention to the new fishing methods that are being used in the village, as he likes to spend time by the river watching the canoe repairs, and is most impressed with the new preschool and the community’s new latrines and clean water.

As for the future? “Now I want to be a driver when I grow up,” he says.

About Plan International

Founded in 1937, we are one of the world’s oldest and largest international development agencies, working in partnership with millions of people around the world to end global poverty. Not for profit, independent and inclusive of all faiths and cultures, we have only one agenda: to improve the lives of children.